Rei Kagekyo
Rei Kagekyo (冷影虚 lit. Cold Silhouette of Falsehood) is a demon, a creature born in Hell and fated to return there upon his death. Appearance Rei appears to be a teenaged male with short, messy black hair with emerald green eyes, eyes that seem to be like that of an eagle, sharp and alert. Almost always he can be seen wearing a white shirt with a black tie and black cargo pants. He typically wears boots wherever he goes, although isn’t above switching footwear should the need arise. More often than not, he’s seen with a black jacket that has white stripes going down the zipper and around the cuffs. When accessing his powers, his eyes turn a dark, icy blue, symbolizing his power. Personality Rei is an oddity by demon standards. Perhaps it’s possible that his knowing how his eternity will end up like, but he’s generally laid-back and perhaps even jovial with people. Compared to what he knows awaits him upon his eventual death(s), this life must be a paradise to him, and he refuses to squander it because of what others expect of him. To that end, he actively seeks to make friends, which he believes will give his life meaning, even if he outlives that meaning. Ever since he was young, Rei had an innate curiosity to discover how things work, why they work, how the object interacts with others and exactly why someone would desire such an object. This has slowly become a hobby of his, to the point of obsession. Should he encounter something out of the ordinary, one can expect Rei to ignore anything else for a time while he gathers details about whatever caught his eye. In battle however, the niceties are over and the demon strives to win at all costs. No move is underhanded, no holds are barred, his survival and continued existence are all that matter. He knows that should he die, Hell will restore him, but the suffering that he had to endure before drives his combat. Rei has a phobia of dogs brought about by the Hell-Bounds, creatures that act as Hell’s canine equivalent. During his time in the bowels of the underworld, he was tormented by a pack of them constantly until he awakened his power and slew them. Even though he killed the hounds of Hades, the trauma and fear still remain. History Rei, many ages ago, was born in Hell as an upper-class Demon. Only moments after his birth, his lot in life was decided, in that he would become a Hell-Hunter. To that end he was taken from his parents and given to a caretaker who would raise and train him to become one of Hell's finest soldiers. His upbringing was abusive to say the least. Shortly after learning how to walk and talk, his life was nothing short of his own personal torment. Day in, day out, the routine was almost the same, a history course on the existence of Hell and the Hunters. After that, he was taught swordsmanship, which later became his favorite means of combat due to the lethality of a blade. Then came the whippings, which were meant to toughen his body and force the healing factor to kick in. He was often deprived of meals, done in order to inspire hate, fear and mistrust in his mind. To break the monotony of this, he was sometimes abandoned to the Hell-Bounds for even the slightest sign of disrespect. Throughout the entire ordeal, one thing Rei never did was give up and show weakness. After the so-called training finally ended, he was given a Hell-Blade, the personal weapon of a Hell-Hunter. As well, he was formally inducted into the ranks of the organization, which gave him a sense of security and belief that his abuse would pay off. With this bare minimum of faith, he stepped into a world that nothing could prepare him for. Now a remorseless soldier on the outside, he felt ready to act as nothing but a sword, but shortly after realizing the brutality and loss of self that was required, he fled, leaving no trace of his being in Hell at all thanks to the power known as Kogeru, except for a strangely mutilated pack of Hell-Bounds. Now a wanted man, Rei knew settling anywhere would only drag his former comrades after him, and to avoid that, he decided to wander the world for all eternity, seeking that which he knows will never be his, a place to call home. Powers and Ablilities Immense Spiritual Energy: Rei’s spirit energy is impossibly dense and dark, the mark of being a demon, a denizen of the darkest of all spiritual planes. In his great power, Rei finds a sense of pride and will gladly flaunt the power given to him. Without restraint, his energy flows outwards, but never upwards, as the higher it goes, the warmer the air, which serves as an antithesis to his naturally frigid powers. Should he manifest it as''' Reiatsu (霊圧, Spiritual Pressure), Rei is capable of causing a eerie blue frost to slowly creep forwards, turning grass into icicles and trees into strange frozen monoliths, causing uproars in the human world, especially in the warmer months, where the cold and snow are thought of to be gone. Genius Strategist: Rei's knack for strategy is what makes him such a threat more-so than his combat abilities themselves. Having picked up the human game known as chess, Rei enjoys outfoxing his opponents through trickery and mind games. As stated before, he will fight underhandedly if it means victory, even in the short-term. More often than not, he studies his opponents and actively seeks an opening, no matter how obscure or rare the opportunity is. He also isn't against bating his enemy into making blunders, the more mistakes they have made, the more it stands to reason that they'd make more, which perfectly translates into another small window of opportunity to strike. '''Kogeru (焦げる lit. To burn): Kogeru is the demonic variant of flash-steps, although to call it as such would be an insult. Rather than simple movement, Kogeru is teleportation, which far exceeds that which a vast majority of other creatures could achieve with their own steps. When used, Kogeru ignites the user’s body in flame and a second identical flame appears a moment later. Rei refuses to explain what occurs in the instant he undergoes this method of transportation, although he admits it isn’t a pleasing feeling. Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Ever since he possessed his Hell-Blade, Rei has learned how to effectively maneuver the tainted sword in combat. Although his style is unrefined, it is his own, one that relies on attrition and cheap shots, fitting with his desire to win. Slowly and carefully, he discovers openings in his opponent’s own style and takes advantage of them. Because no honor code determines his actions with his blade, Rei created a style based on shortening the distance between him and his opponent with little movement directly involved, allowing him to preserve his energy for the battle itself. To do so involves throwing the sword and using Kogeru to warp to its location before the enemy fully understands why he would make such a movement, as typically discarding one’s blade is a sure-fire opening. Because Kogeru is instantaneous movement, Rei can get behind his opponent in the blink of an eye and exploit two of the most critical openings possible in a sword fight, leaving one’s back exposed and not having a clear vision of the enemy. One should imagine that he possesses far more tricks such as this. Scythe Mastery: Rei is a master scythe user, having learned the art by using his Hell-Blade’s Shikai and observing how the spirit within would fight. Simple, quick and brutal are effective descriptions of his movements. The longer reach of the scythe is a useful advantage, one that he exploits greatly to his advantage, allowing him to go from a non-lethal feint to a fatal blow quickly and without greatly altering his stance. Hand to Hand Combatant: Rei is no master of fisticuffs by any measure, in fact it would be correct to say he is outclassed by many. Over the years he existed, he picked up the methods used by punks and thugs in the human world, which like his sword style greatly play into his lack of morals and respect for the opponent. Some of his dirty tactics include the use of sand or snow to blind his opponent, crippling attacks to the spine, the use of his fingernails as claws and even such childish tactics as biting. Even though he fights dirty, the lack of actual training gives him a drastic handicap should things turn sour quickly or if his opponent decides to forgo honor as well and treat him the same way. Regeneration: Like all demons, Rei has the ability to quickly heal any wound, except for his vital organs being injured. When he begins to regenerate, the wound is frozen shut while his body reforms beneath the glass-like suture. Even the loss of an entire limb is within the realm of possibility with this healing factor, although at a comparable amount of energy used to restore the missing parts to compensate. Self-Resurrection: A side-effect of being a demon, Rei has a unique form of immortality. Should he ever receive a fatal injury, his body will be sent to Hell for a time and eventually he will revive himself using reishi in the miasma Hell produces at all times. This makes it so that he can’t entirely break himself free of Hell’s grip. Complete Ice Immunity: As expected of a demon ruling the element of ice, Rei is unable to be damaged by attacks that share his affinity for the cold. As a trade-off, fire element attacks will inflict a greater amount of damage. Zanpaukto Hyoukai (氷海 lit. Frozen Sea) is the name of Rei’s Hell-Blade, the demonic Zanpakuto. Hyoukai appears as a wakizashi with a snowflake shaped guard on it and light blue hilt wrapping. Etched into the snowflake is the Latin phrase In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritūs Sancti, which translates to “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Why the phrase is on the Hell-Blade is currently unknown. Shikai: Although not a Zanpakuto directly, the Hell-Blades were created in their image, and is therefore able to achieve the first release state. To invoke Hyoukai’s release, Rei speaks the command Salute (敬礼, Keirei). When in Shikai, Hyoukai becomes a blue scythe. Hihana (氷花 lit Ice Bloom): By focusing his power along the blade of the scythe, Rei can generate a blast of sheer cold, fired in the form of a wave of pale blue energy. The wave carries the property of drastically chilling whatever it impacts, making it a very dangerous technique to use indoors. Demon Form (悪魔モード, Akuma Modo, lit. Devil Mode):In place of Bankai, the second release of the Hell-Blade is the awakening of the users latent demonic powers. In this case, Rei becomes demonic creature. His body in its entirety is that of a blue reptilian humanoid creature with a white crest atop his head This form also reverts his eye color to green. In this state, he wields a katana that appears to be of the same substance his body is. Increased Spiritual Power: Rei’s already impressive spiritual power is increased by the transformation. Because of the sudden influx, his power is capable of creating a blizzard and hail even on a perfectly cloudless day. Like Bankai, it would be safe to estimate Rei’s power is multiplied by a factor of ten. Enhanced Hihana: Hihana is performed almost exactly the same way, except now with a sword in place of the scythe blade. In this form, the waves of icy blue energy are much more powerful and invoke a much colder bite then the Shikai variant. Rinbara(凛薔薇 lit. Frigid Rose): the sole new technique gained by his transformation, Rinbara is also the most simple of his powers. By focusing reiryouku onto the tip of his finger, he can fire a multitude of small blue spheres, each one capable of exploding into a randomly decided snowflake pattern, mirroring the natural world.